10 Beer Myths You Should Stop Believing

As we become more submerged in beer culture, it's a given that some untruths can slip into your hop-soaked consciousness. It's all good. It's not like you're one of those people who believes the Earth is flat just because you read it on Facebook (or are you?!). You can be forgiven for thinking that the fast-talking neckbeard with the cellar knows everything about aging. But maybe, just maybe, he's full of crap.

In the interest of making your world more well rounded, we hit up a handful of Certified Cicerones, beer writers, and even scientists to debunk some of the most pervasive beer myths.

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Myth: Beer should be served ice-cold

"Beer tastes best when served between 40-55 degrees, depending on the style. Macrobreweries are largely responsible for perpetuating the cold-temperature falsehood, and I think we know why: Ice-cold beer numbs the palate, reducing the taste of the beer, and potentially leading to drinking more of them, which makes it similar to drinking a glass of cold water." -- Bryan Carey, writer, Great Beer Now

Myth: Beer is to blame for your beer belly

OK fine, it's possible that beer was the culprit for that spare tire, but beer gets an outsized share of the blame when it comes to weight gain. Czech researchers (they ought to know) found beer consumption to be a relatively poor indicator of weight gain. Sure, generally speaking if you drink a bunch there's a good chance you'll add some pounds, but research suggest that holds true no matter your beverage of choice. -- European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Myth: Dark beer always has a high ABV

"Just because a beer is dark does not mean it will be higher in alcohol! In fact, I bet that IPA you're drinking is close to twice as strong as the oatmeal stout you passed up on over fears of it being too high in alcohol." -- Zach Mack, owner, ABC Beer Co. (New York City, New York)

Myth: Bottled beer is better than canned

"For decades, glass bottles were reserved for the privileged class of the beer-drinking world, while proletariats drank beer from a can. Nowadays, as most craft beer consumers have surely noticed, that trend is changing, albeit slowly.

"The extremely important paradigm shift in the choice of vessel for our hop-blessed hooch can be summed up with a simple mathematical equation: Beer + sun = skunk. The same ultraviolet rays that give you a farmer’s tan also harm unprotected beer. To paraphrase Baz Luhrmann’s epic 'The Sunscreen Song' -- ladies and gentlemen of the internet, drink canned beer. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, cans would be it." -- Michael Arp, writer, The Blue Collar Foodie (Fair Lawn, New Jersey)

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Myth: "Beer before liquor, never been sicker"

"This was my mantra in college. I repeated it to myself many times before heading out to party. It suggests that the order in which you consume alcoholic drinks will determine your well-being the next day. Could it be that ending with the higher-ABV drink causes bad decisions? I think quantity has a lot more to do with it than the order in which you consume them." -- Steph Harding, editor, MittenBrew

Myth: You just don't like beer

"When someone says they 'don't like beer,' nine times out of 10, they just haven't found their favorite style yet. I've helped countless people find their 'aha!' moment when they taste a beer they truly love for the first time, and I try my best not to say, 'I told you so.' All beers are not created equal. If there's a flavor profile that exists in another beverage, chances are there's a beer equivalent that's just as enjoyable." -- Anne Becerra, writer and beer director, Taproom No. 307/Treadwell Park (New York City, New York)

Myth: Aging makes beer "better"

"A lot of craft beer drinkers have a beer cellar -- myself included. The main idea behind a cellar is to store beers because they get 'better' with age. While cellaring beer does change the flavor profile -- bourbon barrel-aged beers lose some heat, wild yeast strains add more funk -- the beer does not actually improve. It's just different.

"Properly made beer is ready to be consumed as soon as it is bottled. Fresh beer is beer in its purest form, and is what the brewer intended you to enjoy. You may favor a properly cellared beer more than the fresh one. But 'better' is always up for debate." -- David Acra, Northern Florida area manager, New Belgium Brewing Co. (Jacksonville, Florida)

Myth: Dark beer is all the same

"Dark is not a flavor. A dark color tells you only that some amount of kilned or roasted malt was used. It reveals next to nothing about the beer's flavor profile. It says nothing about the amount of hop character, bitterness, sweetness, or alcohol. It says little about the types of malt flavors or the presence/absence of fruity and spicy yeast products.

"And the claim that dark beers are heavy; a meal in a glass? Poppycock. Guinness Draught is 4% alcohol, light-bodied, and very low-calorie. An English dark mild would be even lighter. See what I did there?" -- Michael Agnew, owner, A Perfect Pint (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

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Myth: All strong beers are great for aging

"Hopefully by now people know that almost all beer is best drunk as fresh as possible. Like many, I spent years (and several hundreds of dollars) squirreling away rare stouts, barleywines, and sours for rainy days. First, there aren't that many rainy days, and second, almost all of the beers gathering dust over the years weren't as good as when I bought them.

"Don't age any beer that started its life as a hop-forward style. No, your 120 Minute IPA is not better after four years. Anddon't age beers with coffee, unless you like your beer to taste like green peppers. Coffee flavors fade relatively quickly, and can evolve over time, often into something vegetal.

"Do age malt-forward English beers. Old ales, stock ales, and English barleywines can develop leathery and umami flavors that enhance the hard work that the brewer has done.Beers with wild yeast (brettanomyces), as they can evolve in fun ways over time: Stick a six-pack of your favorite funky beer in the closet, and drink one every year 'til you find the sweet spot." -- Nick Bondi, bar manager, Jerry's Lincoln Square/Andersonville/Wicker Park (Chicago, Illinois)

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Lee Breslouer is a contributing writer for Thrillist and thinks ice-cold beer should be banned. Follow him to beer facts @LeeBreslouer.

Guinness Just Released Its First Bottled Beer From Its New U.S. Brewery

Guinness opened its new taproom in Baltimore earlier this year. The Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House was meant to be a destination, but also more than that, a very American extension of one of the world's most recognizable breweries.

The brewery just announced the release of its first new, bottled beer out of the Baltimore facility. Brewed in Dublin, and barrel-aged in Baltimore, the transatlantic brew is its Antwerpen Stout aged eight months in Bulleit Bourbon barrels. It bridges the history of the beer with an increasingly popular style.

"Our story as brewers began more than 250 years ago in Dublin, and those Irish roots will absolutely always be a key part of who we are, but beer has evolved in so many ways since then," said Emma Giles, brand director at Guinness. "It's hard to deny that the U.S. is the center of the universe as far as beer innovation is concerned. Now that we have a permanent home here with some of the most talented brewers the country has to offer, the potential to blend our brewing expertise with American creativity is virtually endless."

The beer having been aged in Bulleit barrels should come as no surprise. The Baltimore facility was formerly a distillery owned by Diageo, a company that also counts Guinness and Bulleit among its portfolio. That gives Guinness ample access to barrels from popular brands like Bulleit.

"The best part about barrel-aging any beer is that you get the chance to pull the flavors of the wood and liquid previously aged in it," said senior brewer and former Stone Brewing brewer, Sean Brennan. "We've already started to think about what we'll be experimenting with next, but we couldn't be more pleased with our first go at using barrels from our friends at Bulleit. This beer is something special, and one to be sipped slow and savored."

The barrel-aged brew hits shelves across the country "in a very limited supply" starting Friday, November 16, in addition to being on tap at the Open Gate Brewery through the end of the year. It's not just the style that will seem familiar to beer nerds, but the price as well. Four packs of the 10% abv beer have a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Courtesy of Ceria Brewing Company

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The Creator of Blue Moon Is Launching a THC-Infused Beer That Sounds Just Like the Original

In the realm of beer, Blue Moon is a great equalizer. It's marvelously inoffensive! People who don't like beer will drink it consensually! Everybody doesn't dislike it, which is pretty impressive for a beverage that tastes like a fermented creamsicle. Starting next month, however, the stuff is about to please an even larger crowd: Blue Moon's founder, Keith Villa, is releasing a non-alcoholic rendition of his lauded wheat beer, infused with THC.

Our great nation has warmed slowly but surely to the legalization of marijuana. State-by-state policies claiming that weed is, in fact, chill, continue to shift into place, one after the other, and apparently, Villa was more than ready to abandon ABV in favor of THC.

Now, from Ceria Brewing Company -- the independent brewery he now mans with his wife -- comes a THC-infused Grainwave Belgian-Style White Ale. The stuff will go on sale at the start of December in cannabis dispensaries across Colorado, Food & Winereports.

If you're thinking Villa's new product sounds precisely like Blue Moon, you're not wrong. But it is, of course, a completely different beverage, because now consumers will get high, not hammered.